IFPTE Issues Response President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2023 Budget

President’s Budget Request Includes Several IFPTE Priorities, Including Significant Increase in Resources for Agencies, Robust Pay Increase for Federal Employees, and Tax Fairness

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON, DC – The executive officers of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) responded to the release of the Biden Administration’s Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23) budget proposal.

IFPTE President Matthew Biggs:

“IFPTE is pleased that the President’s budget doubles down on his commitment to grow our nation’s economy from the bottom up by not only investing in continued job creation, but also in uplifting working families across sectors of the economy. We are especially pleased that this budget calls for a robust 4.6% federal employee pay raise, an all-important marker for Congress as they work to determine to the federal pay raise later this year. IFPTE is also pleased that this budget proposes to reduce the national deficit $1.3 trillion without increasing taxes on those making less than $400,000 annually. The budget instead adopts a key priority of IFPTE by calling on the nation’s ultra-wealthy to pay their fair share toward funding our nation’s priorities by putting in place a minimum 20 percent tax on those earning over $100 million a year, to include both realized and unrealized investment earnings. We applaud the Biden Administration for a fiscally responsible and fair budget proposal aimed at supporting working families.”

IFPTE Secretary-Treasurer Gay Henson:

“We at IFPTE are happy with the overall the budget blueprint put forward by the Biden Administration today. It represents an historic investment in working people and remains consistent with the administration’s pro-worker agenda. This budget increases spending in the agencies where IFPTE members are employed, including NASA, the Social Security Administration, and the Department of Defense, while strengthening our Buy America requirements through the federal procurement process, committing resources to improve supply chain resiliency, and rebuilding the Labor Department’s ability to investigate and enforce high labor standards. IFPTE will continue to review the budget in its entirety and work toward implementing those policies included in it that benefit our diverse membership.”

IFPTE priorities included in President Biden’s budget request for Fiscal Year 2023 include:

A 4.6% average pay increase for federal government employees. While below the 5.1% pay increase that federal employees would get if the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act (FEPCA) was fully implemented for FY23, a 4.6% pay raise is significantly higher than the paltry pay increases that federal employees have received over the last 13 years. For 11 years of those 13 years, federal employees received pay raises below 2%, including three years with no pay raise.
$14.6 billion for the Department of Labor, a $2.2 billion (18%) increase from the FY21 enacted level. Focuses on restoring DOL’s staffing level and rebuilding DOL’s ability to investigate, inspect, and conduct enforcement and regulatory actions.
$26 billion for NASA, a $2.7 billion (11.6%) increase from the FY21 enacted level.
$1.4 billion for the Immigration Courts, a $621 million increase from the FY21 enacted level. Supports hiring of 100 immigration judges and support staff and provides resources for virtual hearings.
$14.8 billion for the Social Security Administration, a $1.8 billion (14%) increase from the FY21 enacted level.
$773 billion for Department of Defense, a $69 billion (9.8%) increase from the FY21 enacted level and a 4% increase from FY22. Supports military readiness provided by DOD’s civilian employees and directs investments in U.S. supply chains and manufacturing that is critical to national security.
$11.9 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency, a $2.6 billion (29%) increase from the FY21 enacted level.
$81.7 billion over five years for pandemic preparedness across the Department of Health and Human Services.
Increasing the domestic corporate tax rate from the current 21% to 28%.
Closing loopholes that allow multinational corporations to use tax havens to avoid
the recently agreed-to global minimum tax rate.
Across the United States and Canada, IFPTE represents 90,000 highly skilled workers in the federal, public, and private sectors. IFPTE is an affiliate of the AFL-CIO and the CLC. More information can be found at www.IFPTE.org.
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